Khabarnaak

Khabarnaak (Urdu :خبرناک) is an Urdu and Punjabi Comedy television show that airs on 11:05pm on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on GEO News. Mir Mohammad Ali dresses up as a celebrity, with Honey and Saleem Albela who add life to the show with hilarious comments and analysis. It is a veritable “gossip column of talk shows” where in a tongue-in-cheek manner politics, current affairs and society are under discussion focusing on pertinent issues that affect us all.^[2]

Concept

“Khabarnaak” is a place where quintessential characters with different and opposing backgrounds come together and discuss, essentially, our society^[3] featuring Aftab Iqbal as the host and Mir Mohammad Ali as many different celebrities. With the antics of Master Jee, Rubi Anum, Majid Jehangir and Aroo Grenade, the show attracts audiences from different spheres of Punjabi life. Saleem and Honey Albela add humor through their witty comments. They discuss politics, current affairs and society's problems usually in Punjabi Language.^[1]
Khabarnaak is a show where eccentric characters discuss all aspects of the society which need attention. Politics is the major topic of discussion. It also features a section Zabaan o Bayaan where Aftab Iqbal corrects the wrong use of the language that is common among the people, and press on an Urdu language which is the language of elites and not spoken by laymen.^[4] Moreover, Naseer Bhai guesses the composer, lyrists and actors by listening to songs which are suggested by the hosts as well as the audience. Cartoonist Imran Bobby depicts political scenarios through his cartoons.

Parodies

Mir Mohammad Ali parodies several celebrities, in many instances Pakistani politicians.

• 

  Mir Mohammad Ali parodies Rehman Malik

• 

  Mir Mohammad Ali as Raymond Davis

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  Nawaz Sharif Parody

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  Mir Ali as Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani

Special episodes

• Eid Episodes

Usually, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, Ali dresses up as Aftab Iqbal and hosts a portion of the show while parodying Iqbal.

• Valentine's Day

Usually on valentines an episode of 2 hours is broadcast live which includes live calls to challenge Naseer Bhai

• New year celebration

On every new year eve a special episode is aired on geo news from aftab iqbal's farmhouse from okara.

• Imran Khan special

Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Imran Khan was interviewed during this episode.^[5]

History

Aftab Iqbal used to host the show Hasb-e-Haal. He left it in April 2010.^[6] Due to his fall out with Hasb-e-Haal, Aftab surprised viewers by showing up on GEO TV show Choraha. The first episode of Khabarnaak was aired on 11 September 2010. The first episode's cast included popular stage artists like Naseem Vicky, Nasir Chinioti and Badr Khan along with Amanullah Khan (Hakeem Sahab) and Sakhawat Naz (Jeeda driver). Later, Naz and Khan became the regular cast and they were joined by Honey and Saleem Albela in 2011. Iftikhar Thakur joined the show just before the 2013 General Elections.

In another surprise break-up, Amanullah Khan, Sakhawat Naz and Iftikhar Thakur left the show in August 2013 due to undisclosed reasons and started appearing on Dunya TV in the program Mazaaq Raat. Naz and Amanullah Khan were part of the show since its inception. In place of this trio, Agha Majid a.k.a. Aroo Grenade (who had earlier appeared on a few episodes), Rubi Anum (Sadiq) and Farhat Abbas Shah (Master jee) were added to the regular cast. Lucky Dear, Majid Jehangir, Abid Farooq and Akram Udaas also appear on some shows.

In May 2014, Aftab Iqbal had a falling out with GEO administration and left the show. Parody star Mir Mohammad Ali took over as the host. After a period of 2–3 weeks, Iqbal re-joined Geo News and started hosting the show again.

Hostesses

The show has been presented by many hostesses, namely:

• Ayesha Jehanzaib
• Sofia Mirza
• Seemab
• Zainab Jamil
• Sana Lateef
• Fatima Tanveer
• Naima^[7]

References